A fishing captain is recovering from extensive and excruciating burns after his boat exploded Aug. 24 in North Palm Beach, while he was on board.
“I knew when I saw all the fire trucks that I just knew it was him, because I knew that’s the last place he was going to be," said Ashley Hoban.
Ashley said her husband, Tim Hoban, was picking up supplies for their charter boat business at Lott Bros. when the boat exploded.
Palm Beach County
Fishing captain shares struggles after boat explosion
"I thought I lost him," said Ashley. "He has no skin on his hands, and he had to pull himself out and it was low tide and there’s barnacles all over the dock. He's burned all over the place and he had to get himself out and save himself."
She said her husband has second and third-degree burns to 36% of his body. He’s still being treated at a burn unit in Miami.
As for the boat, Ashley said it was their main source of income, but it's a total loss along with their supplies.
"It's just so sad because that was our baby, we used to go to the Bahamas, and got married there and had our boat," said Ashley. "During Hurricane Dorian, we did free supply runs cause our boat was so big we could put a lot in it."
Lott Bros. said Tim was a regular, and shared surveillance video exclusively with WPTV.
"It almost sounded like a car ran into the building, I got on the phone with 911," said Donnie Richards, a manager with Lott Bros. “I know it took the fire department hours to get that thing under control and get it out. I did not want to go out.”
Richards said one of his staff members threw Tim a flotation device while he was in the water.
He said the explosion could have caused much more damage as it was just feet away from a fuel line that's located on the dock.
WATCH: Surveillance video of explosion
“You know, his boat was his means of making a living so to have that happen and to lose everything, we really feel bad for him," said Richards. "We just want to see him recover as soon as possible and get back on his feet."
Lott Bros. and many others are stepping up financially to help the Tim through his recovery. A fundraising page has already received more than $25,000, which Ashley said has helped her rent an apartment in Miami so she can be close to her husband.
"I did not expect so many people to come to our aid and I felt more comforted by that so I didn't have to worry about that immediate need," said Ashley. "And that's huge because I'm trying to be strong for him."
Ashley said her husband does not have health insurance.
WPTV is still working to learn more about what triggered the explosion.
"He has a long way to go, burns take forever and the pain doesn’t get better," said Ashley.
